Skylar's Superhero Therapy
by magicspromise89
Summary: Skylar is being forced to undergo weekly therapy at Mighty Med. It seems like a complete waste of time, but when the therapist tells her she might be able to regain access to her powers, Skylar's all in. There's just one catch: she has to completely open up and face her true feelings-all of them. (Mostly Skylar's POV with a little Skoliver in the mix.)
1. Have You Heard the News?

**Skylar's Superhero Therapy**

Chapter 1—Have You Heard the News?

"Hey, Oliver. Hey Kaz. Have you heard the news?" Skylar asked as the boys walked into Mighty Med's break room.

"You mean that Titanio's getting a new paint job done on his exoskeleton?" Kaz replied.

"No, but it's about time. That thing was so scuffed up; you could barely see the color anymore."

"Yeah," said Oliver. "I heard he's going for a brighter blue this time, with some added silver accents."

"Huh. Sounds nice. But again, I wasn't talking about that. I was trying to tell you about the new resident therapist they're making all of us see."

"Wait," Oliver said. "I don't need a therapist!"

"Who are you trying to fool, Oliver?" Kaz scoffed. "From the stuff I've read in your feelings journal, I'm pretty sure you do."

Oliver glared at his friend. "If anyone needs therapy here it's you, Kaz. Maybe you can learn the importance of privacy!"

"Guys! Guys!" Skylar piped in. "You two are normos. You're exempt. The therapist is just seeing superheroes and powered staff members."

"Then why are you upset? You don't have powers anymore." Kaz said.

"Kaz!" Oliver smacked him on the shoulder.

"Sorry." Kaz said.

"No, don't worry about it. I know what you meant. Most of the sessions are just psychiatric evaluations to prove everyone is mentally healthy and not a danger to anyone. But for us 'long-term patients' (Skylar made air quotes), weekly therapy is now mandatory."

"And even though you don't have powers right now, you're still a patient," Oliver concluded.

"Bingo." Skylar sighed.

"Exactly how many long-term patients are there at Mighty Med?" Kaz asked.

"Technically I'm the only one with that distinction, but there are a bunch of other heroes that are patients here far too frequently. I don't know the exact number, but you can probably guess which ones are stuck going to therapy."

"Well, this sucks," Oliver said.

"It's only one day a week, Oliver," Skylar told him. "And they're willing to work around my school schedule. But you're right. It does suck. Like I really want to share my feelings with a total stranger—literally. I've been told the therapist feeds on emotional energy."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Oliver asked. "I mean, what happens if the therapist feeds on all your positive energy? Couldn't you turn evil again?"

"It doesn't work that way."

"Well still, I'm glad we don't have to go," Kaz said.

"Yeah. Me too," agreed Oliver.

"Well there is a bright side to all of this." Skylar said with a smile.

"What's that?" asked Oliver.

"I heard that Alan's being forced to take therapy too."

"But Alan's not a patient." Oliver said.

Just then an angry scream echoed from the other end of the hospital. "THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I DO NOT HAVE ANGER ISSUES!"

"No," Skylar said when the yelling stopped. "But he did fail his Psych Evaluation."

"No surprise there," said Kaz. All three of them laughed.


	2. Skylar's First Session

**Skylar** **'** **s** **Superhero** **Therapy**

Chapter 2-Skylar's First Session

"Skylar Storm?"

Skylar put down the copy of last month's issue of Teen Hero Magazine and looked up. "Yes?"

"The doctor will see you now."

 _Well, I guess it's no use trying to run away,_ Skylar thought to herself _._ She got up and walked down the hall to the therapist's office.

"The door's open," a woman's voice spoke from the other side of the door before Skylar could knock. Skylar walked in to see a very pale woman in her late twenties. Her skin slightly shimmered with rainbow colors when the light hit it, almost as if covered in translucent scales. Her hair was long and white with occasional silver streaks. Tiny spiral horns peeked out near the woman's temples. She also had a large bandage in the center of her forehead. Skylar had never seen anything like her.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what planet are you from?"

The therapist smiled. "I actually grew up in a parallel dimension. I'm a hybrid. My mother was a demon, my father was fae." She tucked her hair back to reveal pointy ears. "Thankfully, most of the genes I got from my mother only affect my appearance. But we're not here to talk about me." She stood up and offered her hand in greeting. "I'm Lashena."

"Skylar." The two shook hands.

"Please have a seat."

Skylar plopped down onto a surprisingly comfortable armchair and started playing with the pink strand in her hair. "This session is a total waste of time, you know. What can I tell you that's not already in my file?"

"Your file only tells me a little of your background. Nothing on paper can possibly convey the true essense of who you are."

"I fail to see how sharing my feelings with you can help me. It's not like it can get me my powers back. If that were the case, they would have come back within a week the first time that I lost them."

"The Annihilator had them stored in a shock-proof cylinder. No amount of treatment could have changed that. But your powers aren't being stored away anymore. They're inside of you just waiting to come back out."

Skylar looked up at Lashena incredulously. "What the heck are you talking about? Haypax the Elder drained all my powers the last time I was on Caldera. You know, right before I got shot with Black Widow's poison and died! Did they not put that in the file?"

"Relax, Skylar. Your negativity isn't healthy." Lashena rubbed her bandage. "For either of us."

"If you can't handle a little negativity, I'm afraid you're in the wrong line of work. And what's with the bandage? You have a third eye under there or something?"

"No. I had surgery recently to remove a metal plate from my skull. It seems to throb when someone gets angry with me."

"Ouch. What was it doing in there?"

"I'd rather not discuss it."

"Sorry. And I'm not angry. Well, not at you. I'm just confused. Haypax drained my powers. Everybody knows this. So why are you saying that they are still inside me?"

"Last week," Lashena began, "one of the doctors was reviewing your charts and made an interesting discovery."

"What sort of discovery?" Skylar asked.

"All of your DNA scans since Caduceo brought you back are identical. According to all the test results, you're a perfectly healthy Calderan female."

"Except my powers are gone."

"Exactly. Your powers are gone. So you shouldn't be perfectly healthy. But the tests say otherwise."

"I don't understand. Why shouldn't I be healthy?"

"As a Calderan, your powers are linked to your genetic makeup. That's why when the Annihilator stole them from you, your cells eventually started to deteriorate and you would have exploded had you not gotten them back. Knowing this, the doctors here at Mighty Med have been carefully monitoring you to make sure this doesn't happen again. The thing is, even though it's only been a few months instead of a whole year, your body still should have shown some signs of change on a cellular level. But there isn't any."

"So what does this mean? Haypax didn't drain my powers and they are actually just locked away inside of me someplace where I can't get to them?"

"That's the theory."

"Why didn't anyone tell me this? This is great news! Why am I in here talking to you? I should be out there getting more tests done, figuring out how to unlock my powers!" Skylar jumped up and started for the door.

"Skylar, look at me," Lashena said. Skylar stopped and turned around. "Why do you think you're here?"

"To punish me for wasting the doctors' time?"

Lashena shook her head and laughed. "No. If that were the case, they'd be punishing me. I'm working your case for free."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"Because I've read your file, Skylar. I know what kind of a person you are. Even without your powers, you continue to be a hero. I want to help you get them back so you can help even more people."

"Seriously? Wow. You're not at all what I expected." Skylar sat back down.

Lashena chuckled. "That's not surprising. Who expects a hybrid fae/demon from another dimension?"

"That's not really what I meant," Skylar said.

"Let me guess. You were expecting some stuffy old guy with a chip on his shoulder to make you feel bad about yourself?"

"Actually, yes."

"Typical. Skylar, I'm not here to put you down because you lost your powers. I'm here to help you get them back."

"By making me talk about my feelings?"

"Believe it or not, yes."

"But how can that possibly help?"

"Most superpowers initially manifest themselves during moments of intense emotion. I'm hoping that by exploring your feelings, we can trigger your powers again."

"You really think that could work?"

"I think it's a definite possibility."

"I'll do it." Skylar said immediately.

"Are you sure you're up for this? In order for this to have any chance of working, you're going to need to bare your soul. You'll need to dig up memories you'd rather leave buried. You'll have to tear down every barrier and possibly learn things about yourself that terrify you. Are you prepared to deal with all of that?"

Skylar paused for a moment before answering. "It's true that I've never been much of an emotional person. Being hatched from a pod of nutrient solution didn't exactly nurture that part of my brain. But if opening up like that could really bring back my powers, I'm willing to give it a try."

Lashena smiled. "Well then. I suppose we should get started. Let's begin with your childhood."

Skylar sighed. "This is going to take a while."

* * *

Author's Note: Lashena is actually a character from a novel I'm working on called Soluna. If I ever get published, you'll have had a sneek peek. ;)


End file.
